By Dan
Kennedy

Nesson:
"The NY Times v.

Sullivan for the Internet"

By Mark
Anderson

Wired.com

NY State
Supreme Court

Rules
vs. "Narco Banker"

"Narco News
is... entitled

to Heightened
Protection"

"This court finds that
Narco News
is a media defendant
and is entitled to heightened protection under the First Amendment
(Sullivan v. New York
Times)...

"The Internet is similar
to a television and radio broadcast in the sense that the electronic missive is able
to reach a large and diverse audience almost instananeously...
However, the character of a particular website depends on the
format and program design... A
careful review of defendants' submission on Narco News's website
indicates that the Narco defendants' format is similar to a regularly
published public news magazine or newspaper except for the fact that the periodical is published
"on line" or electronically, instead of being printed
on paper. The fact that the Narco News website can accept readers'
comments, or letters to the editor, via a seperate e-mail address
only strengthens the need for First Amendment protections for
the medium.

"Since principles of defamation law may be applied
to the Internet...
this court determines that Narco News, its website, and the writers
who post information, are entitled to all the First Amendment
protections accorded a newspaper-magazine or journalist in defamation
suits... Furthermore, the
nature of the articles printed on the website and Mr. Giordano's
statements at Columbia University constitute matters of public
concern because the information disseminated relates to the drug
trade and its affect on people living in this hemisphere..."

"If Friday's oral arguments are any indication the (Narco
News Bulletin) defense will probably come out on top."

By Mark K. Anderson

Christian Science
Monitor:

By Alexandra Marks

"A precedent-setting case that raises fundamental questions
about free speech in the globalized world of cyberspace, as well
as the role of the independent journalists in a media world increasingly
controlled by corporate giants."

Rolling
Stone

A Special
Commentary by...

By Ben
Winters

from
In These Times

NEW Legal Briefs Now Online

"The new independent journalists of the Internet, as personified
by Al Giordano, play a crucial role in preserving the democratic
aspirations of First Amendment protection. The role of such journalists
is especially salient as mainstream media is increasingly in
the hands of fewer and fewer large corporations."

Please
lend a hand with our defense fund

The Village VOICE
Reports:

By Cynthia Cotts

The Guardian of
London Reports:

By Sean Dodson

And WIRED NEWS
Reports:

By Mark K. Anderson

"Make no mistake. This court fight isn't about any
particular story NarcoNews has done. It's about ALL of them,
and all of the ones yet to come. And it's a battle over the continued
independence of Internet journalism as well. The silencing of
Al Giordano and NarcoNews isn't a theoretical possibility that
might happen a couple years from now. It's already happening.
Al and his volunteer lawyers are hip-deep in it right now. And
they need our help."

- Pulitzer
Prize Winning Journalist Gary Webb

March 16,
2001

"The investigative journalism that's gone on primarily in Mexico
has stood the test under Mexican legal process -- where an investigative
journalist takes on some very big fish. And if the big fish can
then pursue the journalist around the world and threaten the
website wherever it emanates from, that's potentially harmful
to spirited investigative journalism."